The Allan & Kirk Families

The Allans were a very large family. Their history has been written up twice. The most significant work is The Taieri Allans by John Thompson Allan which is available on this site -, along with a detailed family tree. The section on the main site under https://sargisonfamilyhistory.com/the-taieri-allan-kirk-families/ is a brief overview only

The first settlers

The first ancestors to come o NZ were John Allan and his wife Agness Allan. Agness did not change her name on marriage and family legend has it that, instead, John changed his, out of gallantry for his wife. The Allans were weavers and small farmers and in 1842 John and Agnes emigrated to New Zealand with their four sons and three daughters. They were not simply seeking to escape the poverty and tense political situation; another reason for leaving was to found a church in which they could worship, in their own way, without interference. The Allans were religious dissenters and had attended the Burgher Kirk, in Kilmarnock, one of many sects that split from the Church of Scotland during the 18th century. On 4 July 1842, John and Agness and the children sailed from Cumbrae on the barque New Zealand, arriving in Nelson on 3 November 1842. John apparently had a small property at Richmond. They moved on to Otago in 1844, over three years before the official settlement began. This was largely as a result of difficulties with land title in Nelson, challenging economic conditions and the so-called Wairau Massacre. The voyage south was not quite as expected. Soon after leaving Nelson, John Allan fell ill, and the ship put into Picton to consult a doctor, who was on board a man-of-war which was anchored there. As this boat was also going on to Otago, and then to the Chatham Islands, and as John had been a man-of-war’s man, the captain offered to take him and his wife with them so that he might have the attendance of the ship’s doctor during the voyage. After leaving Picton, a fair wind for the Chathams sprang up, so the captain decided to go there first. Consequently, Agness Allan was the first white woman to visit the Chatham Islands. It is not clear whether she saw this as an achievement! The Allans initially lived at Andersons Bay but in 1850 moved to the Taieri where John built a house on the farm he called Bellfield. He became the first elder of the East Taieri Presbyterian Church and in 1854 a member of the first Otago Presbytery.